Reviews, gig announcements and interviews in Northern Ireland

Fun For All the Family at Stendhal Festival in 2017

Stendhal Festival is Northern Ireland’s biggest and best grass-roots music and arts festival. With over 100 performances from the likes of Ash, The Magic Numbers, Sharon Shannon and Lisa McHugh taking place over August 11 and 12 at Ballymully Cottage Farm, Limavady, there is certainly plenty of musical variety but did you know that the festival also has a dedicated family programme that caters to children and families of all ages?

Such is the focus on the family aspect of the festival, Stendhal has won awards naming it Ireland’s Best Family Festival over the years and organisers of the event are keen to improve the family and children’s entertainment offerings each and every year.

Organiser Ross Parkhill explained: “The family element to the festival is hugely important for us. We want to provide an incredibly safe space for youngsters to not only enjoy the specific entertainment put on for them, but to also discover a wider world of music and the arts.

“We believe that introducing children to the arts at a young age can help sow the seeds of innovation in future generations and it’s always great to see families enjoying the event, that’s why our family ticket is priced in such a way as to make Stendhal a really affordable option for families.”

The family programme this year will include two dedicated family tents, one for creative workshops and one for performances, while there will also be family themed acts taking to the other stages around the festival site as well.

One of the family tents, the Discovery play tent, is brought to you by The Dry Arch Children’s Centre, a Limavady based day care facility which this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Stephen Lowry of the centre spoke of how proud they were to be coming back to Stendhal. “The Dry Arch Children’s Centre is really excited to be part of the Stendhal Festival this year for the second time to add our very own spin to the family experience,” he said. “Our ‘Discovery Play Tent’ will be bigger and better this year and will have loads of fun play activities for young children; encouraging them to learn through play; creating, investigating, exploring and most importantly have fun.”

He added: “The Dry Arch Children’s Centre is proudly celebrating its 20th anniversary supporting families. Some of our day-to-day activities include day care, SureStart programmes, youth and family support services and community events. We have a lot more information on what we do and what’s on at the Dry Arch on our website www.dryarchcentre.org”